Oct. 15–Nearly thee years after announcing plans for midtown's first upscale hotel, restaurateur Randy Paragary is starting construction this week on a 105-room mid-rise that surprisingly carries the name of Hilton Hotels' newest brand, the Tapestry Collection.
The six-story, brick-and-concrete hotel at 28th Street and Capitol Avenue will likely be completed by February 2020, said Paragary, who is building the project along with his wife, Stacy, and various partners.
"We feel this product will be as good or better than anything offered" in Sacramento, Paragary said of what will be called the Fort Sutter Hotel, going up on land he and Stacy own adjacent to the new B Street Theatre and near the Sutter Medical Center campus.
Paragary told The Bee he initially planned to build a Hilton Garden Inn at the site, largely because that was one of the only brands that would allow him to incorporate a Cafe Bernardo restaurant into the operation. (The building housing a Bernardo at that corner was demolished earlier this year in advance of the hotel construction.)
But, Paragary said, midway through the planning process for a Garden Inn, a Hilton "higher-up" reviewed the plans and said, "We don't think this should be a Hilton Garden Inn, it should be a Tapestry Collection."
Paragary's response: "What's a Tapestry Collection?"
He and his wife learned it's a small brand Hilton launched two years ago to bring distinctively original boutique hotels into a family of brands known for their rigid uniformity.
Switching to the new brand meant starting over on design, delaying the project by about two years, and contributed somewhat to an increase in the hotel's cost to $29 million from the original estimates.
Paragary said it was all worth it.
"We knew that was our fit because we wanted to do something that was boutique and independent," he said of the Tapestry Collection brand that embraces diversity in design and aesthetics.
Only six Tapestry Collection hotels are in operation and all are on the East Coast, Paragary said. This will be the first one built from the ground up instead of being converted from a previously operating hotel.
The hotel will "embody the independent spirit and vibrant character that (the Tapestry Collection) represents, and we're excited to be part of this dynamic Sacramento neighborhood," said Jenna Hackett. the brand's global head, in a prepared statement.
Plans for the Fort Sutter Hotel call for a 11,000-square-foot first floor with 19-foot ceilings that will include the Cafe Bernardo and a bar offering craft cocktails, wine and local beers. A management company, Evolution Hospitality of San Clemente, has been hired to run the day-to-day hotel operations, though the Paragarys said it will report to them and they plan to be involved in that part of the business. They will operate the bar and restaurant by themselves.
"That's our expertise," said Paragary, whose company now operates numerous restaurants in the area, including the flagship Paragary's in midtown, Centro Cocina Mexicana, Esquire Grill and numerous Cafe Bernardos.
The hotel's interior design will have a "contemporary, clean, modern" feel with a neutral color palette, upscale furnishings and rich textures, along with plenty of local art, including a 12-foot-high macram? piece separating the bar and the lobby, Stacy Paragary said. Room prices will fluctuate with demand but will likely be below $200 per night.
The hotel — totaling 65,000 square feet — will be going after the same clientele as other upscale local properties. But, Paragary said, it also will take advantage of its proximity to the Sutter medical complex to target the families of patients, patients from out of town with early morning procedures and medical professionals doing business with the hospital.
The hotel's managers also will be seeking "staycation" business — people planning a weekend in town that might include a show at B Street Theatre and dining at midtown restaurants.
"This is a great neighborhood for the weekend crowd," Stacy Paragary said. "It's much more walkable than downtown and people can jump on a bicycle and explore midtown."
Although he would have been happy with a Hilton Garden Inn from a business standpoint, Randy Paragary acknowledged he had some initial misgivings about going with that brand.
For one thing, Garden Inn standards mandated the presence of a lobby store selling frozen dinners, candy and other fast-food products not exactly consistent with the Paragary model of food service. All rooms would have had microwaves, another Paragary no-no.
In addition, some of the select people who were clued in about Paragary's closely held plans for the hotel expressed some disappointment when they heard it was to be a Garden Inn.
"I thought you were building a boutique hotel," he recalled some saying. "I thought it was going to be more cool — something to compete with the Citizen and the Sawyer."
Now, Paragary said, he expects little disappointment from anyone.
"We're very pleased the opportunity to change (brands) came long," he said.
The hotel is a nearly all-local production, with Sacramentans Ron Vrilakas as architect and Rachel Glabe Taylor as designer. The contractor is MarketOne Builders, tackling its first hotel project. The project's $19 million construction loan came from River City Bank.
